Mahomes is already regarded by many as the most talented passer in NFL history. While he reveals in Quarterback that he’s modeled his style of play after Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford, Mahomes has pushed the boundaries of creativity at the position, using his arm strength and improvisational instincts to pull off throws most quarterbacks could only dream of, including the occasional no-look pass. He can use his legs to extend plays, but only as a last resort — since he so often makes the right play with his arm. But, as Manning told Netflix, those highlight-reel passes don’t just happen: “Patrick Mahomes is not just making these sidearm throws on Sunday because, ‘Hey, let me try a sidearm throw today.’ He’s in there working his arm with these awkward angles to make these throws. It’s not just an accident.”

After serving as a backup during his rookie year following his collegiate career at Texas Tech, Mahomes exploded onto the scene in 2018 to win the MVP award in his first season as a starter. He then led Kansas City to a Super Bowl win the following campaign. He’s been named to the Pro Bowl during each of his five seasons as a starter; every Chiefs fan alive has thanked their lucky stars that he’s their quarterback, and every other fan wishes he was theirs to root for.

That success is hard-won. Over the course of Quarterback, Mahomes is motivated to recover the Chiefs’ status as the top dogs in their conference after losing to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 AFC Championship. The Bengals end up beating the Chiefs once again during the 2022 regular season, making them the first team to defeat Mahomes in three straight games. 

Mahomes’ success is fueled by his toughness and intense competitiveness. Fans saw this over the course of the Chiefs’ 2022 playoff run, and Quarterback viewers will see it as well, as Mahomes plays through a serious ankle injury that worries his family and coaches, and openly dreams of a winner-takes-all AFC Championship rematch against Burrow and the Bengals. “I think we’d match up better versus the Bills, but I wanna play the Bengals,” Mahomes says in Episode 7. “I just wanna play them because we haven’t beat them and I’m tired of the talk [that we can’t].”

Mahomes and Brittany met in grade school in Texas, and in high school their friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship after he gifted her a rose on Valentine’s Day. The couple are parents to a daughter, 2-year-old Sterling Skye Mahomes, and a son, Patrick Lavon Mahomes III, born in the middle of the 2022 season and nicknamed “Bronze” for being the third of his name.

Brittany played soccer at the University of Texas at Tyler, going on to play professionally for one summer in Iceland. The sport is still a major part of her life as she is now a part-owner of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current. “I think that’s what makes me love her so much, is that she’s a competitor at heart just like I am,” Patrick says in Episode 4.

The Mahomeses married in March 2022 and are moving into a home they had built in Kansas City, where Patrick’s landmark $450 million contract  — the largest in American sports history — is set to keep the family in the city into the next decade. 

In many ways, Cousins is the polar opposite of Mahomes, a quarterback who relies on arm accuracy over strength and is at his best in the controlled environment of the pocket. As a teenager, his father (who doubled as his football coach) told him that his best traits as a quarterback were his intelligence and “nose for the ball” — though as he admits in Quarterback, he’s still working on becoming a more vocal leader. 

Cousins doesn’t boast the same first-round draft pedigree as the other two quarterbacks featured in the show, as the Michigan State player was picked in the fourth round of the 2012 draft by Washington to be fellow rookie Robert Griffin III’s backup. But he claimed the starting job several years later and performed well enough in three full seasons as a starter to convince Minnesota to make him their QB1. He’s made four Pro Bowls during his career, including three in his five seasons with the Vikings, but has only one career playoff win. A devout Christian and family man who always takes time for his fans, throughout Quarterback Cousins demonstrates his will to better himself as a player and a person. 

“Kirk provided incredible access to his sessions with his sports psychologist,” Manning told Netflix about Cousins’ process, which includes mental conditioning as well as physical therapy and strength training: “The greatest investment a quarterback can make is into his body. If he takes care of himself, that allows him to play more years. I have great appreciation for [doing all the] extra, outside-the-box modalities. That was not available early on in my career. I love that Kirk does all that.”

Kirk and Julie Cousins married in 2014 after being introduced by a mutual friend and have two sons, Cooper, 5, and Turner, 4. NFL players have Tuesdays “off,” but while many use that day to train or watch game film, Cousins always devotes his to his family, including long walks with Julie and their labradoodle, Abe — a ritual Julie holds near and dear. 

Julie also doubles as a de facto fashion consultant. She curates her husband’s so-called “dad style” — which she prefers to deem as “classic” — picking out his press conference outfits, which often go viral for their unassuming looks.

“I just feel like we’re very normal people,” Julie says in Episode 1. “Like, yes, we do shop at Target and Sam’s Club. So if you wanna laugh at that, go for it.”

Mariota was the biggest star of any of Quarterback’s featured players during their college careers. He became the first player of Polynesian descent to win the Heisman Trophy in 2014 before being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans. Before he’d even thrown a pass, the Honolulu, Hawaii native soon had the bestselling jersey in the NFL, and won the Titans’ starting job in his rookie season. The flashy dual-threat abilities he’d displayed during college with his arm and legs had fans excited about his future in Nashville, but after leading Tennessee to three consecutive winning seasons between 2016-18, Mariota regressed in his fifth NFL campaign and was relegated to backup duty midway through the season. He played sporadically for the Raiders for two years, backing up Derek Carr, before getting a second chance to start with the Atlanta Falcons during the 2022 campaign. After being released by the Falcons in February of 2023, he signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in March.

Over the course of Quarterback, the gifted but error-prone Mariota fights to keep the Falcons in playoff contention, while also fighting every week to prove to his coaches that he deserves the starting job. Amid the unremitting push and pull of work-life balance in the NFL, he’s forced to decide between spending the first days of his newborn’s life at home, or remaining with the team. “Marcus has this incredible balance in his life with his family,” Manning told Netflix.

Kiyomi met Mariota while they were athletes at Oregon, where she played soccer. They started dating after he asked if they could use her notes to study together.

“It actually was strictly platonic, as far as I knew. He wanted my notes from class, and I was like, here’s my notes, here’s my number,” Kiyomi says in Episode 2. “We won’t say who got better grades.”

She still helps him “study,” as she quizzes him on the Falcons’ ever-evolving playbook during the season. The two married in 2021, and in December, Kiyomi gave birth to the couple’s first child, a girl named Makaia, as the Falcons’ season — and Mariota’s role on the team — reached a critical inflection point.